State Political Correspondent for The Age

Former Police Commissioner Christine Nixon has defended embattled Emergency Services Minister Kim Wells, saying he acted appropriately and left the right people in charge to manage the Grampians bushfires.

Mr Wells has admitted he made an error spending last Friday evening watching the tennis at the Australian Open while dozens of bushfires burnt across the state.

"The minister, I believe, was behaving reasonably ... he left the people who knew how to manage it in charge," Ms Nixon told radio station 774 ABC.

Christine Nixon

"It's a storm in a tea cup; it annoys me that people are criticised when it's not a reasonable thing to do."

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She said Mr Wells had been at the control centre during the day and was constantly informed of the situation.

Ms Nixon said a Minister's role was to provide support not to manage the emergency.

"Any of the evidence would tell us in fact that the people who are the experts should be allowed to the job, what the Minister is supposed to do is support them," she said.

Ms Nixon said that people were too quick to jump to criticise, especially in emergency services, and that meant ministers were rushing to help when they did not need to be there.

"I think it is time to recognise the role of people in senior positions and the evidence ... suggests you should in fact stay out of it," she said.

Ms Nixon was roundly criticised after it was revealed that at the height of the February 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, she went out to dinner.

It has also been revealed that sports minister, and the local MP for Grampians region, Hugh Delahunty was also at the tennis on Friday night.

He has also been criticised for attending the Open rather than the fires.

His spokesman said Mr Delahunty spent most the day in fire-affected regions before leaving at 4pm for the tennis where he was meeting with Tennis Victoria, local governments and community tennis clubs.